Converter.



J. V. BRETAUD.

CONVERTER.

APPLIGATION FILED F313,), 1913,

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Patented Feb. 24, 1914 WE i=2- lwuwioz Joke 297; VfirefQacZ,

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J. V. BRETAUD.

CONVERTER. APPLiCATION FILED IEB.7, 1913.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

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JOSEPH V. BRETAULD, 0F HIGHLAND PARK, MICHIGAN.

CONVERTER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH V. BRETAUD, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at Highland Park, in the county of WVayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Converters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in Bessemer converters for the manufacture of steel which are commonly constructed with a metal casing pivoted on trunnions and provided with a refractory lining. In operation blast is admitted to act upon crude molten iron contained in the lower part of the converter, for the purpose of purifying the iron and converting the same into steel. In this process of conversion considerable heat is generated and the refractory lining deteriora es rapidly, necessitating frequent repairs during which the converter is necessarily idle, and in order to maintain a continuous operation of the plant, it has been customary to use two or three converters in succession. To reduce the cost of such an installation, means have been provided for removing the converter shell from its support and replacing it with another, thus making it possible to operate continuously, but as these removable shells are usually made in one piece it takes considerable time for the same to cool and to make repairs, thus making it necessary to provide several shells in order to operate an installation continuously.

Other types of converters have been devised having a sectional shell, part of which is removable from. the support and part fixed theretoa These ccrnverters although affording easier access to the lining, are idle during the time necessarily consumed in cooling and repairing the stationary part and their operation is, therefore, only semicontinuous.

The object of this invention is to improve these conditions by providing a shell having an upper and a lower section each removable from. its support independently of the other so that when the lining gives way in one part it is only necessary to remove that section in which the break occurs and replace it with a good section, the other section remaining undisturbed, thus making it possible to get the maximum use out of one Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 7, 1913.

Patented Feb. 24:, 1914.

Serial No. 746,745.

lining and to operate oneconverter continuously with but two complete shells.

A further object of the invention is to provide suitable means for detachably connecting the parts of the shell to their support and the air box to the lower section; and to provide certain other new and useful features in the construction and arrangement of parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a converter embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, with the top section of the vessel removed, and Fig. 3 a vertical section of the same.

As shown in the drawings, the shell is formed of sheet metal and comprises an upper section 1, and a lower section 2, sunported by a trunnion band 3 pivoted on stands 4 and 5. One trunnion 6 is hollow for the passage of the blast, and leads through the connecting elbow T to the wind box 8, from which the air is admitted to the interior of the converterthrough a series of holes or twyers 9 in the refractory lining 10, for the purpose of purifying a bath of molten iron contained in the lower section. Suitable means, not shown, may be applied to the opposite trunnion for the purpose of tilting the vessel.

The sections 1 and 2 of the vessel are each fastened to the trunnion band or ring 3 by inserting the adjacent ends of said sections within the band and providing brackets 11 on each section to engage the edges of the band and locking means to detachably lock or clamp the brackets to the band comprising key bolts 12 pivotally attached at one end to the band and each provided with a slot at its opposite end to receive a tapered key 13 adapted to engage the adj acentbracket between lugs or ears between which the bolt is swung in securing the shell sections to the band. The adjacent ends of the sections are thus inclosed by the band 3, the joint being covered thereby, and their parting plane corresponding with the axes of the trunnions, said plane also corresponding with the center of gravity of the vessel. The shell is therefore separated into two parts of equal weight, which is the best condition for rapid cooling of the lining. When the two sections of the shell are clamped to the trunnion band a small space is left bet-ween their adjacent edges and this space is filled with a layer of refractory sand which is compressed between the said edges when the sections are clamped to the ring thus making a perfect seal.

F or lifting the sections from their support a crane or other suitable device can be used and when a section has been so removed, it is laid on a. pair of trestles carrying suitable bearings for secondary trunnions 14 on each section and thus the sec tions may be conveniently turned to facilitate repairs.

In order to dry out and heat up the lining before molten metal is placed in the converter, the converter is turned mouth downward and an oil burner inserted therein. The flame is directed against the bottom of the lining and the gases of combustion are permitted to escape through an opening or passage 15 in said bottom. hen the lining is heated to the required temper ature, the hole in the lining is plugged with sand and the opening in the shell closed by a door 16.

The wind box 8 is formed in two parts adapted to meet in a vertical plane, the outer part 17 being fixedly secured and permanently bolted to the trunnion band 3 and the inner part 18 being flanged and secured to the lower portion of the shell, becoming a permanent part thereof. The two parts are adapted to register and may be forced into air tight contact with each other by means of two lovers 19 pivotally attached at one end to cars on the part 18 and adapted to be swung into engagement with cam projections 20, on the outer part 17.

From the above description of my con verter it will be seen that to remove the upper section 1 of the shell, it is only necessary to knock out the keys 18, swing back the slotted bolts 12, and raise the shell from the trunnion ring by means of a suitable crane, and to remove the lower section 2, the vessel is turned upside down to bring said section above the trunnion band, the cam levers 19 are swung to disconnect the section from the part 17 of the wind box, the keys 13 are driven out, and the section then raised by the crane. In reassembling the parts, the reverse operation is per formed, and it will be seen that the only tool required in the operation is a hammer.

It is a well known fact that a converter lining does not wear evenly, the wear around the twyers which are located in the lower part, being much greater than in the upper portion of the furnace. WVhen the twyers become unsafe on account of their shortened condition, it is not necessary to remove the entire shell, the lower section only being removed and replaced by a new one, the change requiring but a few minutes. The removed section having its lining exposed,

cools very rapidlv and can be repaired during the time the other is in service. The upper section of the converter wearing much less rapidly needs only to be taken oif at every other removal of the lower section and replaced by a spare one. WVith this arrangement, continuous operation is assured with but two complete shells, and repairs are performed expeditiously and cheaply.

In practice, in order to operate the plant continuously, only one complete converter and one spare shell are required. The operation is started in the morning with shell No. 1, this shell being able to turn out in the forenoon from ten to twelve blows or heats. At noon, the lower section of No. 1 is removed and replaced by lower section of shell No. 2. This new arrangement turns out in the afternoon the same number of blows, making the total for one day from twenty to twenty-five blows. At night both upper section No. 1 and lower section No. 2 are removed for repairs. During the afternoon lower section No. 1 is repaired in readiness for the next morning when it is started with upper section No. :2. The same cycle of operation is followed day after day with a minimum production of twenty blows a day. Whereas it has heretofore been necessary to have at least 3 converters for pro ducing the same number of heats. The cost of a plant is therefore considerably reduced as is also the cost of making repairs.

Obviously, changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not therefore limit myself to the particular form or arrangement shown.

Having thus fully described my inventionwhat I claim is 1. In a converter, the combination of a pivoted supporting member, a vessel comprising sections having their adjacent ends detachably mounted in said supporting member and independently removable therefrom, and means for detachably attaching each section to said supporting member.

2. In a converter, the combination of a pivoted supporting member, an air supply member carried by said supporting member to turn therewith, a vessel comprising sections having confronting ends detachably mounted in said supporting member and independently removable therefrom, means for detachably holding the end of each section in said supporting member, and means for detachably connecting said air supply member to one of said sections to deliver air thereto and to permit the removal of said section.

3. In a converter, the combination of a pivoted supporting member, a vessel comprising an upper and a lower section, said sections having confronting ends detachably mounted in said supporting member and independently removable therefrom, an air box formed in two parts meeting in a vertical plane and one part permanently secured to the supporting member and the other part permanently attached to the lower section of the vessel, and means for forcing said parts of said box into contact with each other to make an air tight connection between said parts.

4. In a converter, vessel sections having confronting ends, a thin layer of refractory material arranged between the ends of the vessel sections, and means surrounding the confronting ends of the vessel sections and having provision for holding said sections in engagement with the layer of refractory material.

5. In a converter, the combination of a vessel comprising an upper and a lower section, an annular pivoted supporting member embracing the adjacent ends of said sections, means for detachably securing one end of each section in said supporting member with their adjacent ends in a plane with the pivots of said member, said securing means being adapted to force the end of one section toward the adjacent end of the other section, and a filling of refractory material between said adjacent ends of said sections.

6. In a converter, the combination of an annular pivoted supporting member, a vessel comprising upper and lower sections having ends thereof mounted in said member with their adjacent ends in a plane with the pivot of said member, brackets on said sections engaging opposite edges of said supporting member, and means for detachably connecting said brackets to said supporting member.

7. In a converter, an annular supporting member provided with peripheral flanges, an upper vessel section, a lower vessel section, said sections having ends thereof confronting at a point intermediate the ends of said supporting members, brackets carried by said vessel sections at points removed from the confronting ends thereof and adapted to engage flanges of said members, and means carried by said members and adapted to engage said brackets for detachably holding the confronting ends of said vessel sections in said member.

8. In a converter, the combination of an annular supporting member, and a shell comprising two sections with their adjacent ends fitting within said member and removably connected to the upper and lower edges of said member, and a filling of refractory material, between the ends of said sections when secured in place within said supporting member.

9. In a converter, the combination of supporting bearings, an annular supporting member having trunnions engaging said bearings, one of said trunnions being formed hollow, a wind box connected to said hollow trunnion and comprising two parts with one part secured to said supporting member, a vessel comprising two sections with the adj acent ends of said sections within said annular supporting member, and spaced apart, one part of said wind box being secured to the lower of said sections and opening therethrough, means for detachably clamping the sections of said box together, a filling of refractory material within the space between the adjacent ends of the sections of the vessel, and separate means on each section engaging means on the supporting member for forcing the sections toward each other and detachably securing them to the said annular supporting member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

JOSEPH V. BRETAUD.

Witnesses:

LEWIS E. FLANDERS, ANNA M. Donn.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

